Basically, what I'm asking with this question is, do you like your entertainment short form or long form? Do you prefer to get engrossed in a movie for 2 hours or so, admiring the skill and craft behind this one story, and then be satisfied? Similar preferences would be for one novel over a series.

Or would you rather become addicted to a television show for a few seasons, or a series of movies, riding the ups and downs, loving the character development and really getting to know the universe for the myriad rewards a fifth season can bring? I'm talking about stuff with continuity, not "Law and Order," where continuity and character development are really not the main goals.

This question was posed in an EW.com popwatch item months ago, but I'm only now starting to understand it. And I think I am definitely a long form person. I want to spend years with characters, sometimes volumes of books, and see how a story plays out over time and what happens to the people.

I mean, I like movies. Don't get me wrong. Some of my favorite entertainments are movies. And there are plenty of series that some people love and I just can't get into. ("Firefly" is the example that springs immediately to mind.)

And I think it thus makes sense that the fanfic I've been working on for the past, oh, eight years, is a saga that follows one character for 100 years. No, you can't read it.

I think my preference for long form explains a lot. For one thing, I think it helps to explain the dislike I felt and still feel for The Dark Knight. That's a movie. Even as part of a series, there's not enough time to do what I like to see in a story. Now the DC Animated Universe, that's another story. Even the comic books are a slow burn, though that world is becoming increasingly impossible to navigate.

And yet, here's the funny thing. I own very few TV soundtracks. I prefer movie scores because they are so self-contained, though I totally respect the musical development you can find in, say, Bear McCreary's BSG soundtracks. Heck, most of my DVDs are for movies. Though I love long series, I own very few of them on DVD.

Movies for me._________________"The piano keys
Are black and white
But they sound like a million colours in your mind"
(from Spider's Web by Katie Melua)
---
Avatar is from work of art by Drew Struzan

alien_avatar
Captain

Joined: Oct 28, 2006
Member#: 16007
Posts: 1335
Location: Berlin

Posted:
Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject:

Interesting question.

I picked "I love them both equally", even though that's not entirely correct... but it comes closest.

The two-hour movie format is a great thing. It's almost like reading a nice short story; maybe you want more of the same, but you're not getting it.
Sad, yes, yes we know... now go and deal with it!
These days they're making a lot of sequels and prequels and spin-offs and who knows what. It's sort of understandable when it's something like Star Wars 4-6 or Harry Potter, which are essentially one long, single story.
Other series, like Saw 1 thru 87, where they tell the same story over and over again... well, I watch them when I like the genre, but I'd prefer a bit more variety, sometimes.

Most TV series I know of.. well.. if they'd never been made I wouldn't even notice. I also don't watch them on TV -- ever. I usually wait around until at least a season is available on DVD and then I watch one episode after the other.
So while I like involving myself with characters for longer than two hours, I get impatient when I'm being made to wait too long. That instant gratification thing, I suppose.
I've been known to lose interest entirely when I have to wait longer than I like...

You also mentioned books. It is a good thing that I really like series, because I read almost exclusively Fantasy and Science Fiction, and I'm under the impression that they're not doing stand-alone novels anymore.

Comics supposedly have these ultra-complicated story lines. Theoretically that appeals to me, but for some reason I can't handle the comic format. They bore me. They're thin booklets with lots of pictures and little text that you read through in 15 minutes.
Yes I know that you're supposed to admire the artwork, and I mostly do, It's just that I either want to read a story or look at awesome pictures... but not both at the same time *shrug*.

So... now I'm done explaining that I basically like anything the entertainment industry is willing to feed me -- in whatever bite-size they think is appropriate! _________________"Welcome to the paranoia club; cheapest fees in the universe and membership lasts forever."
- Peter F. Hamilton, The Evolutionary Void

First thing I must say - I live in Estonia and I might not so good in english, but I hope everyone understands me.
Anyway, I just want to reply to LadyInque to tell her I watch both of them. Sometimes, I think, is long movie better than short and sometimes is short movie better than long. But both of them is good!

i used to really like movies, but my interest as ceased over the years. movies that develop like bourne / matrix / back to the future hold my interest. but since shows like lost and death note and [ dare i say ? ] the trailer park boys came about, i'd say movies have some work to do in upping the game than just big explosions and over priced, useless cgi. there are still gems out there. movies like powder and kpax i would say are really something and worth the time to watch. i guess i'm just more selective these days....

if we're talking music, a good composer will do either justice. an example being, 6 star wars albums vs 6 lost albums. its no dispute that either of williams and giaccihno's works have the same level of depth and development in their albums. prime examples of a movie and tv show soundtrack.

ailarkaljurand wrote:

First thing I must say - I live in Estonia and I might not so good in english, but I hope everyone understands me.
Anyway, I just want to reply to LadyInque to tell her I watch both of them. Sometimes, I think, is long movie better than short and sometimes is short movie better than long. But both of them is good!

First thing I must say - I live in Estonia and I might not so good in english, but I hope everyone understands me...

Hello ailarkaljurand welcome to the forums and to SST.
I have no problem with understanding you. And as far what I have seen, your english is much better than my Estonian _________________That's the beauty of music. They can't take that away from you. (Andy Dufresne)
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ferrywayes
Cadet 1

Joined: Aug 03, 2009
Member#: 26352
Posts: 2

Posted:
Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:36 am Post subject:

i love to see movies than tv shows...... and if only if my favorite movie i have ever seen. i can like dark knight movies than tv shows.

I had to pick both. Its pretty even for me._________________If you have it you don't need it. If you need it you don't have it. You need it to get it and you certainly need it to get more of it. Which means you don't have it to begin with people just know.

But atM i don't have much time to watch a 2 hour-movie, so mostly I go with the 45- min series, at least a few!_________________It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
A. de Saint-Exupery

Luther_III
Commander

Joined: Jun 20, 2005
Member#: 10621
Posts: 768
Location: New Orleans

Posted:
Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:52 am Post subject:

I would think that I would like these serial TV shows, for the very reasons that LadyInque outlines. However, every time (OK both times) that I have actually become invested in one of these series in recent years, I just couldn't sustain my interest for more than a season or two.

The first was Alias, which began with probably one of the best pilot episodes ever shown on television. The next was Heroes, which had a spectacular first season. I stuck it out with Alias until the end (barely), but I gave up on Heroes shortly after the writers' strike truncated Season 2 (or was it 3?).

I think the problem is that as writers try to "flesh out the characters and the universe"--i.e. fill up several seasons' worth of episodes--they inevitably do one of two things:

1) They end up changing what it was about the characters and the universe that I liked in the first place. I guess this phenomenon is roughly equivalent to what is known as "jumping the shark." For example, this happened for me as soon as Alias' SD-6 characters where hired by the CIA. Lame.

2) They try to work in so many plot twists and character dilemmas that the story becomes a convoluted mess, and I just can't follow it anymore. I mean, it's come to the point that if you miss one single episode of one of these shows, then you're just lost. And I don't like being forced to be that committed to a TV show.

Oh yeah, and I absolutely loathe TV commercials.

I know, I know--I could rent those shows on DVD. I tried that with Battlestar Galactica. I loved the pilot miniseries, and I even watched some kind of series summary on the Internet and tried to get into Season 2, but it aired at a bad time (Friday night at 9, I believe), and so I couldn't stay with it. I haven't been able to bring myself to rent the DVDs. I just don't have the stamina or commitment or patience--or something--to watch episode after episode night after night. And anyway, from the snippents I've caught, it looks like I would have been frustrated with their plot twists and character 'developments.'

So I stick with movies, some of which I admit just can't fully do a story justice. I don't really watch any TV shows anymore, except news programs and Man vs. Wild, that is, if I could ever figure out when it airs. *shrug*

_________________"If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.... I get most joy in life out of music."
--Albert Einstein

ArchitRen
Lieutenant

Joined: Jun 28, 2007
Member#: 18166
Posts: 120

Posted:
Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:11 pm Post subject:

I have to say I like both. Sometimes a really good story cannot be fully developed in movie format. Some stories are best told in mini-series also. But I agree that tv shows can go on too long, so as to loose much of its initial interest.
I like that there are more and more movie actors (award-winning and all) on TV. TV shows now have better music, effects and acting than they ever did before. EX: Damages - I watch it just to see Glen Close being... well Glen Close! She's awesome.

Luther - You really should watch BSG. The acting, plot and character development is at it's best at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th seasons. You can see the arc of the actors/characters really well. They came a long way during the series (particularly the younger actors).

tv show for me
I love movies, but I prefer tv because I can connect myself more to the characters and I love following them for a longer time. _________________

Dutchbat
Captain

Joined: Aug 09, 2008
Member#: 22196
Posts: 1863
Location: Roosendaal

Posted:
Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:16 am Post subject:

For me it certainly is : Movies
Like LadyInque indicated getting sucked into a story not being distracted by household noises and things is for me the best way to flee the world for a couple of hours. (listening to the score, lying on the couch with my eyes closed does that trick too).

The fact that I don't have a TV-set now for almost 25 years says it all.
Most things that there are to see is rubbish anyway, due to work I can't follow series and the few important things I can always watch on the computer.(=infotainment)

I know it's not the mainstream view but I never missed the TV for one second._________________

I like them both because:
I love going to the movies to enjoy a good film.
But it's only about 2 hours of entertainment.
A tv show is shorter, but you can enjoy every week over and over again._________________"True friendship is sitting together in silence and feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had."